July News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

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July has arrived, summer is under way and the weather has turned exceedingly average. Things are steadily returning to normal but there is an undercurrent of concern about what the future holds, but one thing is certain, the weeds will still grow. Hopefully you have managed to light the BBQ and enjoy a few evenings in the garden although it is still a bit cool.

Watering, deadheading, pruning and fertilising are the main priorities to keep everything at its best... and of course weeding! I have made a start on the front garden but struggling with enthusiasm. The borders look so much better for it but I can always find something better to do. As the early shrubs finish flowering, prune out the older branches (the ones with the most sub laterals) or pollard the entire plant and start again, is does them good especially if the flower is becoming sparse. The cooler weather suits the lawn but keep it watered and green and take this opportunity to apply a final high Nitrogen (N) weed and feed to see it through to the Autumn.

The vegetable patch should be in full swing with so much ready for harvest and second sowings to be planted out. Potatoes have done well this year with a bumper early crop and the maincrop flowering and looking healthy. All my beans are late this year, but the broad beans are getting close and the climbing beans are starting to flower, I think they will all come at once. The rhubarb has produced well again although recent hot weather has set it back. Plenty of water and cool weather should produce another pick and I will ignore the stop picking in July rule, I picked until August last year and it hasn’t weakened them at all.

The June drop is now over so see if fruit needs a final thinning to increase the size of the final crop. Watch out for all the pests and diseases, pick out the tips of lateral branches if they are starting to wither and lightly prune apples, cherries and plums. Give them a good watering and feed along with the raspberries which are shallow rooted and tend to dry out.

I have noticed that a lot of my plums are oozing a clear resin so have resorted to Google to try and find the reason.

Unfortunately the advice is a bit inconclusive. Some say it is just excess pectin which means the plum will make good jam. Others say that it is due to dry roots and needs a good watering. What is worrying is that some articles say that it is sawfly which will render the fruit inedible and if allowed to fall to the ground will allow the grub to go into the soil and pupate into next year’s sawfly. I have picked one plum and found nothing so I will give the tree a good watering and allow them to ripen and then we will see.

Anyway it’s the Fourth of July and the pubs have opened, although I will give them a miss for a couple of weeks until the heaving sigh of national relief has passed. Instead I will celebrate the independence of the colonies from the comfort of my own home. We recently managed to settle up our war debt with our American allies, although I discovered that we never fully settled up our debt from the first war. That gives me something to celebrate and can be considered as fair recompense for all that unpaid tea tax… cheers Mr President.

We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.

If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society
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